There are loads of compact speaker systems on the market offering you the chance to upgrade your sound system without making a big dent in your bank balance or taking up half the living room. Systems from Jamo, Tannoy, Cambridge Audio and Teufel have all impressed us with their superb sonics and space-saving designs, but now here’s another one to consider – the Movie 125 MX from German manufacturer Canton. Like its above rivals, this system sells for around £500, but with such fierce competition at this price point Canton will need to do something special to really stand out.

It’s a straightforward 5.1-channel package that throws four identical 115mm-high satellites, a bigger centre speaker and an active subwoofer into a single box. It’s one of ten different systems within Canton’s ‘Movie’ range, which also includes systems with tall column speakers and some with even smaller satellites.

The design of the 125 MX’s satellites is exceptionally good. As you pluck the components from the box you can tell they’re cut from a different cloth than the hollow, lightweight speakers you get with many all-in-one systems. Each satellite speaker weighs 0.8kg and boasts a classy high gloss black finish, although they also come in a choice of silver and white. An extra touch of elegance is provided by the curved sides, but it’s a shame Canton blotted its copybook with some ridiculously fiddly springclip terminals on the back, which are sunk into a deep recess that makes it really tricky to guide the cables into the holes. Ironically, Canton has called this system ‘Easy Link’.The 195mm-wide centre channel shares the satellites’ superb build quality, down to the lustrous black finish and curved sides, but sadly it also shares those ultra-fiddly speaker terminals. It looks like an elongated version of the satellites, horizontally orientated in order to slot easily under your TV. As for the sub, it shuns the high-gloss black finish for less glamorous black styling and at 425(h) x 240(w)mm it’s not particularly compact, but it’s robustly built and inoffensive to the eye.